Prime Minister Robert Abela on Monday backed down from his calls for an amnesty on social distancing fines, saying critics had relied on a “misleading” headline and not listened to what he said.

Speaking to Malta Today, the prime minister said that his calls for an amnesty, were intended for people who do not have the literacy skills to file a petition asking for their fine to be forgiven.

“Nobody saw or heard what I said,” Abela said. “If [critics] had stuck to what I said, rather than gone with a misleading title in a report of what I said, then their position would have been different,” he said.

“Nowhere did I say that we should give a blanket amnesty,” Abela added, saying anyone who brazenly broke COVID-19 rules would have to pay their fine.

Times of Malta reported the prime minister's call for the amnesty on Sunday.

What did Robert Abela actually say? 

Speaking during an interview on ONE TV on Sunday, the prime minister had argued that only an “absolute minority” of social distancing fines were truly merited, before going on to say:

“So I would like to introduce, immediately, a mechanism to consider an amnesty for fines people received over these weeks.

“People who were fined are not criminals. Many, many cases were down to a mistake, a lack of attention, to being in circumstances we never found ourselves in.

“I want a mechanism which would also allow people who already paid a fine to apply to have it forgiven and receive a refund.”

The remarks prompted outrage from police unions, the employers’ lobby and frontline healthcare professions, who described the prime minister’s words as an “insult”.

Police officers patrol the Sliema promenade. Police unions were outraged by the prime minister's comments. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

How do social distancing fines work? 

Police say 1,604 people have been fined for breaking social distancing rules. The fines range from €100 each for groups of more than six people caught in public, to €10,000 for anyone infected with COVID-19 who is caught breaching quarantine. Other fines apply to shop owners who opened their business in violation of public health rules.

There is already a way in which people who were fined can apply to have their fines struck off. 

Anyone fined must appear before a commissioner for justice and pay up if convicted. Commissioners are tasked with hearing offences related to traffic, minor drug possession or smoking in prohibited places, among other things.

But people who are fined can write to the Petitions Board and ask for their fine to be struck off the record. The board is made up of just one person, appointed by the minister responsible for local councils for a two-year term.

Speaking on Monday, Abela said that the board had already received and approved some such requests related to social distancing fines.

The prime minister said he wanted other people who do not know how to file a request with the petitions board to have that same opportunity.

“If a pensioner is fined €100, that is a large percentage of their already-low income. We need to assess things using both reason and compassion. We cannot leave compassion out of it,” the prime minister said.